Think About It
by Omega3141
Summary: This is the first of many fanfics, and is part of a trilogy called Son of Thought. Please, read, and like.
1. Chapter 1

Think about it, Chapter 1

As most of you know, being a half-blood is dangerous. You must also know that if you are a powerful demigod, your attraction to monsters is even greater. Well, my name's Mark, I'm five foot-nine, 14 years old, and this is the story of how I realized I was one of the most powerful demigods ever. The brisk Monday morning seemed usual. My sister watching cartoons on the couch, Mom was fixing breakfast, and Dad was asleep in his room. Yeah that's right. My mom _and_ dad. Being a demigod, you must be thinking, "But you must have a godly parent." You're right, I do. Before I confuse you more, let's continue. As I sat down at the table, Mom placed a plate of waffles before me, and without saying thanks I ate all of the waffle sin less than two minutes. Mom reminded me from the kitchen, "You know, you need to chew a little!" "Showwy, butchoo know thah foof helfs the bwain!" I replied through a mouthful of waffles. Mom laughed in the kitchen. "It sure does, Mark." With that, I grabbed my backpack, said goodbye to my mother and sister, and quickly ran out to meet the bus. Calculating the speed I was going and the distance from me to the bus, so that I would arrive on time. Before I could finish, however, I slammed into the bus, which must have arrived early. The doors opened and the mixture of sounds, smells, and sights greeted me. I took my usual seat in the exact middle of the bus, directly under the emergency exit hatch. I arrived at school with no trouble, and was halfway through my day before anything remotely weird even happened. My best friend, Jake, limped toward me on the way to gym. "Hey dude, you up for a game of dodge ball?" I just laughed at him. "Jake, you're walking with crutches and you have been your entire life, and you want to play dodge ball?" Jake laughed nervously, which sounded coincidentally like a goat's bleat. "I um, just wanted to hang out with you today, make sure nothing weird happens, you know?" I just nodded my head, not really listening. We arrived in gym and quickly warmed up, when our gym instructor, Mr. Ironclad, who ironically was in a wheelchair. "Alright, listen up! Today we're going to play a good old fashioned game of dodge ball! I will now divide up teams. Luckily, or possibly unluckily, Jake was on my team. He limped up beside me at the starting line. Mr. Ironclad wheeled himself to the middle of the court. "On my mark," he shouted. We all tensed up, prepared for the run. "Get set, GO!" I sprinted toward the middle of the court, grabbing a ball and surveying the area before proceeding. Everyone was okay holding their own, and I did pretty well myself until I noticed both Jake and Mr. Ironclad were missing. I looked around, but saw no sight of them. At that moment, I felt something coming toward me. I whipped around and caught the dodge ball that would have turned my face into mush, and looked around for its thrower. That's when I noticed something weird was going on in the game. As people got hit, they vanished, not appearing again in sight. Actually, now that I looked around, I realized that the only players were me, and on the opposing team, three girls who looked identical to each other each hold what seemed to be a glowing dodge ball. I immediately tensed up. I'd never seen these girls before, and they gave me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. The girl in the middle spoke first. "We've been watching you, son of thought, waiting for our chance to consume you." The girl on the left spoke in the same voice as the first. "Yes, child of Athena and Odysseus, we wish to consume you endless knowledge." The names stated registered in my mind, but all I could focus on was the word 'consumed'. "Wh-Who are you?" I asked shakily. The girl on the right spoke now, her voice the same but just as creepy as her sisters. "We are _investigatores,_ and we wish to consume you." I loosely translated the Latin spoken into "The Researchers" but it still didn't help clarify anything. Before I could ask anything else, however, the both girls pulled their arms back and released the dodge balls.


	2. Chapter 2

Think about it, Chapter 2

Three glowing dodge balls, each with a trail of white mist curling around them, sailed toward me. I managed to duck the first and deflect the second with another ball beside me. The third, however, was different. As I lunged to the side, the ball moved with me, barely giving me enough time to get up and run. The 'Researchers' just laughed wickedly as I ran for my life. I didn't know where I'd be transported if I was hit by the ball, and I didn't want to. As I ran, a plan started to form in my head. The girls were just standing there, making no attempt to speed up the ball or stop me. I guessed they thought I would eventually tire out, and they could be right. I was already breathing quickly, and fatigue was soon to follow. I quickly figured out that if I ran at exactly seven miles per hour, the ball would be just far enough behind me for my purpose. I decided to charge the girls. I ran straight at them, but the girls just laughed and moved out of the way. I ran past the girl on the right, made a one hundred-eighty degree turn, and stopped in front of her. Now she tried to protect herself. She raised a knife, the blade also glowing white, and slashed. The blade never touched me. Instead, the dodge ball hit her, and she instantly disappeared, leaving nothing but her knife and white mist. The two remaining girls looked over at the spot where their sister had vanished in bewilderment. Before the girl nearest to me could react, I had picked up the knife and slashed it through her, making her vanish as well. The third had picked up another dodge ball and as she threw it, I knew that there was no way I could dodge it. I closed my eyes, and braced myself for impact. My last thought was, "I really don't want this to hit me." I opened my eyes and saw it all happen. Time seemed to slow down, and the ball slowly landed on my stomach. Before it could hit me, however, the ball stopped. The ball was whisked back the way it came, slamming full force into the last girl. She screamed and disappeared. Now that they were gone, the mist started to form shapes. The students started to form from the mist, along with Mr. Ironclad. The mist flew out the doors, and I hoped that the other victims of the Researchers appeared as well. As I looked around me, the students looked slightly dazed, but after a moment, continued with the dodge ball game as if nothing had happened. Jake and Mr. Ironclad, on the other hand, looked anything but confused. Jake's eyes widened in fear, and he limped over to Mr. Ironclad. They started having an argument, and a short while later Mr. Ironclad rolled out of the building, not to the notice of the other students. Jake limped back to me, almost getting hit by a ball along the way. "Dude," I said, "What was all that about?" Jake just scratched his head, looking around the gym. "Nothing." He limped off toward the restrooms, mumbling. I wanted to ask Jake about the Researchers, but he seemed to have his own problems. I went up to Steve, a nerdy guy in the corner trying not to be hit. "Hey Steve, did you see where those three girls went?" I asked. Steve looked at me funny. "What girls?" I just shook my head and walked away. 'I know I didn't imagine it, maybe the mist wiped their memories.' I thought. Right then, Mr. Ironclad rolled back in and blew his whistle, signaling the end of gym. Everyone went to the showers, but before I could, Mr. Ironclad said, "Smith, I want to see you for a second. You too, Mr. Fields." Both Jake and I stopped in our tracks, and walked back to Mr. Ironclad. Mr. Ironclad looked at Jake. "Is it ready?" he asked. Jake nodded grimly, while I looked back and forth between them. "Is what ready?" I asked. "What's going on?" Mr. Ironclad faced me. "Listen, Mark," he started. "You're not normal. Not in a bad way, if that's what you're thinking. You're also wondering why no one remembers the three girls here in gym." "I knew they were real!" I shouted. Jake laughed nervously. "Of course they were real!" he screamed. "I still don't know how you defeated them. Anyway, we need to get you to a safe place. Don't worry about your family, they won't attack them." Mr. Ironclad nodded in agreement. I looked at them both. "You expect me to just waltz on down with you guys to get to this safe place, without looking back?" I asked. They both nodded. "If you want to live." Mr. Ironclad said. "Yeah," Jake said. "If we can meet up with Victoria and Eric in time, they can help escort you to camp. Then Ariadne can assess you." I looked at him for a few seconds. Since when had he become brave? After a while, I agreed. "Okay," I said. "Let me get my stuff." Mr. Ironclad produced a backpack that I could have sworn wasn't there before. "We packed for you." With that, I shouldered the backpack and started to walk outside. I turned around. Mr. Ironclad wasn't coming. "I'll see you there" he said. Jake and I walked out the doors, starting our journey to safety.


	3. Chapter 3

Think about it, Chapter 3 As Jake and I walked alongside the homeless man, I thought back to what got us here. We'd just walked outside the gym, and Jake had immediately asked for my backpack. "I need the map." He'd explained. Jake opened the backpack, which (surprise) was empty, or so it appeared. As Jake reached inside the backpack, his whole arm went inside, which should have been impossible... Well, so should the three girls, mist, and glowing dodge balls. As Jake rifled around in in the bag, I thought back to the battle. I was surprised that I had acted so brave, or at the very least, not cowered in the corner like Steve. I mean, just a few hours ago I was convinced I was completely normal, and no normal person would've stood up and fought the three girls. When I look back, I realize that I really didn't even contemplate not fighting them. They were hurting the people I knew and I had to stop them. I also missed my parents, even though I was only about twenty minutes away from my St. Louis home. Finally, Jake came up with two items from the backpack: a compass and a map. The map was normal, and the compass appeared to be as well. Until I noticed that, while all the labeling was correct, the needle wasn't the only thing that was moving. The cardinal points, North, East, South, and West, were moving themselves into the correct locations. But the needle was pointing northeast, with the letter 'C' labeled on it. "The needle points to camp, which is the safe place we're heading. It's in New York." Was all he said. He took out the map and examined it, then pointed at interstate in Illinois. "That's where we need to be by the end of today." He said. I was wondering about our means of transportation, hoping it would be a giant dragon or a jetpack, but it turned out to be neither of those. It was a greyhound bus. I didn't even know that they ran here, but it pulled up at the school, so I didn't question it. As we boarded, the driver asked our destination. "It's New Yo—" I said, before Jake stomped on my foot. "Effingham, Illinois." Jake said. "What?" I said as the driver calculated the fare. "Effingham," He repeated. "It's a town." "Oh" was all I said. We took our seats near the front, in case we needed to make a quick exit. "Wait a second," I said to Jake. "If this camp is in New York, then why are we stopping in Illinois?" Jake looked around the bus before responding. "That's where the reinforcements are." "Reinforcements?" I asked loudly. Jake shushed me, looking quickly around the bus to see if we were heard. "Yes, you know. Victoria and Eric. They'll help escort you to camp." I nodded. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I spoke again. "Jake," I said. "Mr. Ironclad said I was special, but he never explained how. Like, if I'm special, are these reinforcements special too? Or you and Mr. Ironclad?" Before I could ask any more questions, Jake held up his finger, silencing me. "Not here," he said. "When we get to camp, I'll explain everything." I sat there for a few minutes, thinking about the past events. Was Jake even my friend? It seemed like all he was doing was being an escort at the moment. And what about before the girls attacked? He seemed nice enough, but what if all that was an act, and he was just essentially a bodyguard? As these thoughts rolled through my head, I slowly drifted off into sleep, my head resting against the window. I was standing beside a throne in an amazing palace, where three figures were talking to each other. The first figure, a man in a smart gray shirt and a big black beard spoke. "My daughter, your niece, is missing. We must start to search. I want none of the others to know of this, but we must find her by the summer solstice. Hades," he said. The man on the right, exceptionally pale with very dark hair and eyes. He was dressed in a black robe. "Send the spirits to search in the darkest corners of the Earth. Search the land for any sign of her." He said. "Poseidon," he addressed the dark haired man in a Bermuda shirt, fishing pants and hat, and a deep tan. "Search the seas and any source of water. Spread the word through the sea creatures, so they may search as well." The man on the left, Poseidon, spoke, "And you, brother? What will you do?" The man stood up. "I am Zeus, lord of the skies. I will search through the air, far and wide for my daughter." He walked away slowly. As he walked out of the palace, he said over his shoulder. "We must find her at all costs. We must find Athena."


	4. Chapter 4

Think about it, Chapter 4

I woke up to a flaming bus. As I sat up, and my eyes grew wide at the sight of the bus, which was slowing burning as fire crept up its walls. The weird thing was, no one seemed to notice. As I looked around, the passengers were staring calmly out the window, as if the flames weren't slowly creeping toward them. Jake was snoring softly next to me and I urgently shook him awak...e. "Hmm… What?" He sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning very big. "The bus is on fire!" I whispered urgently, pointing at the walls. Jake stood up, his eyes suddenly huge. "The bus is on fire!" Everyone turned around and stared at him, but they still didn't notice the fire, although some of them were staring at the flames. "What's going on?" I asked. Jake opened his mouth to speak, but a horrible dark laughter filled the room. "Jake?" I asked. Jake pointed a shaky finger at the bus driver, who was staring at us through the overhead mirror. "You are a pathetic excuse for a demigod." He said. "I don't see why we needed to kidnap her; you don't even know what you can do. It looks like I can kill you now, no one will stop me." He laughed. Jake and I stood up since I was pretty sure this guy was not normal. Jake pushed me back. "I'll handle this." He said. Jake reached into his backpack and pulled out a huge cudgel, tipped with spikes on the end. He slowly walked up the isle to kill the bus driver/weirdo, but the driver just smiled and disappeared into smoke after saying "Not today." Jake slashed at the smoke, but there was nothing to hit. Meanwhile, I was opening the bus doors, ready to jump out. "Wait!" Jake screamed. I realized we had to save the people on the bus. Some people had started smoking, which I took as a bad sign. I stood of and yelled "Fire!" which had the same effect that Jake did. So instead I sighed and said, "Bomb!" which immediately got a reaction of mass panic. The smoke was seriously thick now, which was causing me to cough. Jake sat at the wheel, looked at me and said "The brakes won't work!" I pushed Jake out of the seat and pressed down on the brake which, sure enough, wasn't working. Ahead of us was a sign that said 'Effingham— 2 miles.' I slowly pulled the nus onto the side of the road, so we wouldn't hit any cars. I was starting to think that we were all going to die when I saw our salvation. A sign that read, 'Runaway Truck Ramp.' About five hundred yards ahead was the sandbank that would stop the bus. Looking back, I thought it was a little weird that a runaway truck ramp was on a two lane highway interstate, and that it was so close to a town, which I'd never heard of before. But at the moment, I didn't question it. I was too suffocated from the smoke and the flames were seriously hot. I ran off toward the ramp, yelling at the last second, "Brace yourself!" We slammed into the sandbank full force, and the airbag slammed into my face. It stung, but after I pushed it away, I was okay. "Get off the bus!" I screamed, and everyone screamed and ran off, leaving Jake and I the last ones, coughing and choking, out. Almost as soon as we got out, the bus exploded, sending us flying through the air. Jake landed on the ground, but I (of course) slammed into the 'Runaway Truck Ramp' sign, sliding into the ground. I was pretty sure I had cracked my ribs, and I had a few cuts and bruises. I had possibly sprained my ankle. Jake sat up and got a water bottle from his backpack, which looked like apple juice inside. "Here" he gasped as he handed me some. I drank, which for some wired reason, made my pain lessen a considerable amount. I tried to hand some to Jake, but he refused. "Keep it," he said. "Just don't drink too much" I didn't question it, so I just stuck it in my backpack. The people from the bus were calling the police, so we decided to leave. Luckily, Effingham was right in front of us. "First," Jake said. "We find Victoria and Eric, then we stay at a hotel. As we walked through the street, I stayed silent, thinking about what just happened. Who was that bus driver, and who did he kidnap? I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice the homeless man in front of us. "Hey Jake. This him?" He was dressed in a ratty gray overcoat with some pants full of holes that were about two sizes too big, and his black beard was full of old food. My first thought was to run, because I thought this guy was like the bus driver, but Jake said, "Yep, never thought we'd see you." The homeless man said, "Follow me." And we trudge after him. I finally found my voice. The homeless man turned around, and I realized he was a teenager, only a year or two older than me. He pulled off his beard, which I realized was fake, and said, "I'm Eric. Victoria's up ahead. We're you guarantee of safety, by the way."


	5. Chapter 5

Think about it, Chapter 5

Eric led us around a few more corners until we came to an apartment complex. Night had fallen by the time we arrived, but it was too cloudy to see the moon. The apartment room wasn't that nice, but at least it didn't have bugs crawling across the walls. "Welcome to paradise." Eric said, gesturing to the room as he got out of his hobo outfit. Now that he was in regular clothes, I could actually see who he was. He was about as tall as me, and looked to be about fifteen; he had black hair on his head. He looked kind, but there was a thing there that seemed to suggest he was hiding something, something important. I never knew how I'd gotten to read people so well, I just could. "Where's Victoria?" Jake asked as he set his backpack down in the corner. I did the same. "I was watching you to make sure you didn't have a tail." Came a voice from behind us. I jumped about two feet in the air and turned around. The girl, apparently Victoria, was leaning against the door, a smirk on her face. "Wow, you're jumpy." She said, raising her eyebrows. She was a good six inches shorter than me, with dark brown hair and a caring face, but there was something hidden there, as if she was really a warrior inside. "Hey Victoria," Jake said. "But after what he's been through, he deserves to be on edge." Both Victoria and Eric's faces turned serious. "What happened?" they asked at the same time. Jake filled them in on the events of the day, from the Researchers to the bus. Eric whistled. "Wow, man. That was some serious bravery." My face burned, uncomfortable with the praise. "I just acted like anyone else would have." I said. "You didn't act like anyone," Victoria said. "Only a demigod could act like that!" Victoria slammed her hand over her mouth, her eyes flitting over to Jake and Eric. "Demigod?" I asked. "What's that, like half god, half mortal? From Greek mythology?" Jake, Eric, and Victoria's eyes grew wide as they waited for me to make the connection. "Like Heracles, Perseus, Theseus… Wait…" I said. "So… I'm a demigod? That's what makes me special." Maybe self-consciously, Eric, Victoria, and Jake both made a three fingered claw over their heart and pushed outward, which looked wired coming from Jake, who looked like he was having a seizure, his eyes big and his body tensed up. "I'm sorry guys," Victoria said. She looked at me and sighed. "Yes, Mark, you are a demigod. Your mother or father was a Greek god or goddess. But unfortunately, now that you know, monsters, like the bus driver, will be even more attracted to you. Our journey will now be ten times harder, thanks to me and my big mouth." She looked down. "It's okay, Victoria," Jake said as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "He was bound to find out anyway." Victoria nodded but kept her eyes on the ground. Eric spoke up, trying to change the subject. "Anyway, if you don't already know, my name's Eric Talamas, and that's Victoria Grace." "You're demigods too?" I asked. Eric nodded. "Yes. I'm still not sure about my parent, but Victoria is a daughter of Athena, goddess of –" "Wisdom and battle strategy." Victoria said proudly. For some reason, hearing about Athena being Victoria's mom, I felt closer to her, although I couldn't explain why. "What about you, Jake?" I asked, turning to him. Jake looked uncomfortable, but he shook his head. "No, I'm a, well, um, just don't freak out, okay?" I was going to ask about what, when Jake took off his pants. Where his legs should have been, there was only fur, and where his feet should have been were hooves. "You're a…" I tried to think of the word. "Satyr!" I said, recalling the word from my reading. Jake nodded, looking down. "So, you still want to be my friend?" he asked quietly. I thought about it for a second, and then answered. "Of course, dude. It wouldn't matter if you had elephant legs, you'd still be my friend." Jake smiled, as if that wasn't what he was expecting. There were a few minutes of silence before Eric spoke up. "Yeah… well… We'll be safe enough in here, and then we'll head out for camp tomorrow. So, get some rest everyone, we've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow!" With that, Eric collapse on one of the beds, and he was snoring in minutes. "Night guys," Victoria said as she walked into the other room to sleep. "I'll take first watch." Jake said to me, so I decided to crash in the bed without any argument. I was asleep in minutes. If I'd known about what I would have dreamt, I would have stayed up the entire night.


	6. Chapter 6

Think about it, Chapter 6

I dreamt I was in a dark, cold, chamber, which I could sense was somewhere deep within the Earth. The area resembled a coal mine. Everything was blackened and there were many chambers running throughout the building. Beside me was a woman, her shirt ripped and her face blackened by soot. She had long black hair and intelligent yet fierce and frightening storm grey eyes. Somehow, I knew this was Athena, the goddess of wisdom. She was chained, her wrists and ankles bound by some bronze-black glowing chains, which were slowly, rhythmically pulsing with light. Athena was looking over my shoulder, her eyes filled with hate. "Ahh… So our princess awakens." A voice said from behind me. It took me a few seconds to realize he wasn't talking to me. I whirled around, looking for the source of the voice, but saw no one. His voice seemed to be simply coming from nowhere. Athena spat on the ground. "What do you want with me? I have nothing to offer!" She screamed into the darkness. "But you are wrong, fair maiden." The voice chided. "You can offer me advice." Athena looked offended, and then shouted into the darkness, "I would never help the likes of you!" The voice laughed. "You may think that now, Athena, but you will if you want to save your 'special' son. Athena fought against the chains. "He needs no saving! He is my son, and he is more powerful than any demigod ever was! And just like him, I need no saving! I will escape, and you will be left in ashes!" With that, the voice laughed and the world collapsed around me, sending me into a spiraling fall. I awoke, drenched in sweat, to Eric shaking me awake. "I hope you don't mind," he said tiredly through a yawn. "But I need to crash. Could you take over watch?" I gladly agreed, eager to think over what I had just dreamed. I sat in the armchair and watched the sun slowly rise out of the misty sky. So Athena had been kidnapped. Since I knew that the gods were real, I had no real doubt that my dreams were true as well. As the sun filled out in the sky, I checked the clock on the bedside table next to Jake. It was only seven-thirty, but I didn't feel that tired. I remembered Eric saying that we needed to get an early start, so I decided to wake everyone. I walked over to Jake and shook him softly. "Jake," I whispered. "Do we need to leave?" His eyes fluttered open, and he tossed the covers off himself. He wasn't wearing any pants, and although it was hard to believe, I was already getting used to his goat form. His pillow was almost completely gone, which would explain the stuffing hanging out of his mouth. Victoria walked in, her hair fell neatly across her neck, and her clothes were neatly pressed as well. I wondered if she had woken up early, because there was no way any other girl could get dressed that fast. We decided to eat breakfast here, so we could get out on the road faster than a public restaurant. Eric came in the kitchen, his hair disheveled and his shirt wrinkled. I wondered if he slept on the floor, but I noticed a small cot in the corner. All of us sat around the kitchen table, eating stale bagels and hard waffles. There wasn't much food here, but it seemed that someone kept it stocked. "Does the 'camp' own this place?" I said. The three people around me nodded. "Yeah, it's one of the many safe houses around the United States." Victoria said. Then she got a napkin and drew a surprisingly detailed map of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. "We need to get to here," Victoria said, pointing to a small town which she assured me was Warren, Pennsylvania. "If we hurry, we can get there in roughly ten hours." "Are we taking the bus again?" I asked, looking at Jake. Jake shook his head and Victoria said, "No, I've got my license, so I'll be driving all the way." I was stunned. "Wow," I said. "Are you sure you can do it?" Victoria's eyes lit up with slight annoyance. "I am the daughter of Athena, so yes, I'm sure I can handle it." "Sorry." I muttered. "It's fine." She replied. She stood up, grabbed her keys and jacket and walked toward the door. It didn't seem like it, but she was the oldest of our group, and even if she hadn't been, she'd still be the leader. As the door shut behind us with slam, I thought about asking them about Athena, or maybe discussing more of my questions about demigods. I didn't voice them, though. We had a long car ride ahead of us for that.


	7. Chapter 7

Think about it, Chapter 7

As we entered the apartment's parking lot, I scanned the area for our car. I picked out a blue, beat up corolla that I though was ours, but my hopes were dashed very soon. Instead, we stopped beside an old looking, bright red minivan. "Really, Victoria?" I asked disapprovingly. "Hey," she said. "It was cheap, had four wheels, and goes vroom vroom. What more do you want?" She asked, sitting down behind the wheel. "I guess it's okay," I said, climbing into the back. "Plus, no one would suspect three demigods and a satyr to be traveling to New York in a bright red, beat up, minivan." They all laughed, the car was started, and our journey began. For a few hours we sat in silence, watching the road go by as Victoria occasionally referred to a map for directions. We were sitting in silence, while I was mulling over my thoughts, when a question came up. "Hey Jake," I said. "Didn't you say that in order to be a demigod, you had to have one godly parent and one mortal parent?" Jake nodded from the passenger's seat beside Victoria. "Then I can't be a demigod," I said. "I have both real parents, and they're both mortal." Jake dismissed this with a wave of his hand. "One of your parents was most likely not your real parent, just someone your father or mother met after they met your godly parent and had you." I tried to wrap my mind around that, and I was pretty sure I understood him, but something seemed wrong. In the end, I decided to bring it up later when I was sure of my godly parent. I had another question anyway. "Guys," I announced to the occupants of the van. "I've been having weird dreams." Victoria almost lost control of the van. "You have?" she asked gravely. Jake looked around excitedly. "I forgot to mention that sometimes demigods have dreams, then those dreams are either weirdly vague or sometimes very direct, but they're always true." Eric didn't say anything; he was staring out the window. "Well then," I said. "We need to get to camp, there's been a kidnap—" Eric cut me off, shouting at Victoria, "Look out!" A man had appeared right in front of the car, and Victoria slammed on the brakes, trying to swerve around him. "I watched it all, and it was as if time slowed down. Our left-side mirror came about an inch from slamming into his face at top speed. He was about my height, dressed in a business suit, greying hair, and carrying a leather briefcase. The weird (or weirdest) thing though, was that even as the mirror almost hit him, his face was absolutely emotionless. The car, suspended on two wheels as we swerved around him, slammed back onto the ground as we sped back onto the interstate. Horns blared around us, but we paid them no attention. I looked back behind us, but the man was gone. It seemed as if he had simply never been there in the first place. "What just happened?" Eric asked, rubbing his obsidian looking ring that I could have sworn he wasn't wearing before. Victoria checked her mirrors before she spoke. "I don't know, but I know it must mean trouble. Men don't just happen to appear then disappear in front of three demigods and a satyr in the middle of the interstate." She thought about it for a second. "Come to think of it, men don't appear in front of mortals in the middle of the interstate." Eric just kept watch on the road. "We'd better hurry to Warren, because I'm pretty sure that man or worse will be back." He said seriously. We sat tensely inside the van, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. "OH!" Jake shouted, smacking himself on the forehead. We all jumped, startled by the sudden burst of sound. Jake looked at us sheepishly. "Sorry, I just totally forgot to give you this." Jake said to me as he reached into his backpack. He produced a slightly glowing bronze knife. "All demigods need a weapon, and until we get to camp, you can use this." I nodded and accepted the blade. It felt small and unfamiliar in my hands, so I would only use it if I had to. I would have much preferred a sword. We all sat in silence, and eventually, after watching cars and buildings pass for a while, I fell asleep. I dreamt I was once again next to Athena, but this time I could sense that there was no evil presence around, which meant the voice was gone. Another thing was different: Athena was looking at me, as if she could see me. "I thought I could break free," she said to me. "But he is too strong, and I need your help. Gather friends and go on a quest to save me." She struggled against the chains, which pulsed with energy, causing my vision to darken. She muttered a curse in a language that sounded vaguely familiar. "I shall give you a weapon," she said. "Use it wisely. Please, rescue me, my—" I was cut off as the chains pulsed and I was whisked from my dream. I awoke, wondering what she was going to say. Hero, demigod, savior, any of those things. Jake, Victoria, and Eric were having a conversation. "Are we almost there?" I heard Eric saying. "We don't have much time." I heard the rustle of the map. After a second Victoria said, "Yeah, we're about twenty minutes away." I sat up. Inside my pocket, I felt something unfamiliar, like a pen, but I had to do something first. I figured it's time to discuss my dream. "Guys," I said gravely. "Athena has been kidnapped." At that moment, I experienced a migraine so powerful, I thought I was going to black out. When I opened my eyes, we weren't on the road anymore. We were in the middle of a camp fire, with a bunch of people in orange T-shirts gathered around us. Behind me, there was a what looked like a man on a horse, along with another satyr. "Well," the man on the horse said, remaining calm. "That was sudden."


	8. Chapter 8

Think about it, Chapter 8

Jake ran forward and kneeled in front of the satyr. "Lord Grover!" he exclaimed, falling all over himself. The satyr, apparently Grover, blushed. "Stand, my friend. There's no need for that." The man on the horse, actually I now realized it was a centaur, smiled at us and held out a hand to me, which I had to stand up pretty tall to shake. "Welcome," he said. "I am Chiron, activities director here at Camp Half-Blood." I was still in shock from all of this, and seeing a centaur up close didn't help. I did the natural thing. I fainted. When I awoke I was on the ground, so I figured I'd only been out for a few seconds. Jake had lifted me up. "Are you okay?" he and Grover asked at the same time. I nodded, but my throat felt dry. "Water." I croaked. Someone passed up a flask, which I drank greedily. I almost spit out what I drank, because it sure wasn't water. Not that it was unpleasant, but it was impossible. It tasted like I was drinking a mixture of French fries and a milkshake, which was a surprisingly good combination. I stood up, suddenly filled with new energy. I felt a lot better. "So this is camp," I said. "So how do I figure out who my godly parent is?" A girl, just about an inch shorter than me with long, curly black hair, startling ocean blue eyes, and a denim jacket over her t-shirt walked up to me. She looked about seventeen, but she glowed with health and had a face that seemed timeless for some reason. "I can do that." She said. She raised her arms and a creek burst its bank from the woods beyond me and came rushing forward. Before it could hit me, it turned into a small mist and slowly went down my throat, then rushed out and came to a symbol above my head. The symbol was blank, and the girl cursed in what I now guessed was ancient Greek. "I thought I was getting better at this!" She said as she stormed away. I was still a little mind blown by what she had done, but managed to ask, "What just happened?" Chiron took in my alarmed expression and laughed. "That was Ariadne; she likes to use her water powers. She's a daughter of Poseidon." He explained. "She tries to figure out the child's parent before they claim them." He continued. "She experiments." His face grew serious. "So, I'm still curious to how you arrived." I shook my head. "I don't what happened," I said. "I just—" I was interrupted by a collective gasp from the campers, who immediately kneeled in front of me. Above me, I noticed a glowing, holographic image of a gray owl, staring fiercely at something. "That is what Ariadne was trying to do," Chiron said. "All hail Mark Smith, son of Athena, goddess of Wisdom, Battle Strategy, and Household Crafts." He said as he kneeled as well. Jake was smiling at me, and so was Victoria, all though she seemed much happier about it. Eric was smiling slightly, but he had sadness in his eyes that I couldn't explain. Victoria slapped my back, congratulating me by saying, "Welcome, Brother." I wasn't that surprised. I'd figured I was Athena's son from the first time I met Victoria. I looked around at everyone, who was waiting for me to say something. "My mother's been kidnapped." I said. "She's trapped somewhere deep in the Earth, held captive by an evil voice that is using her to get some advice on something." "I need a quest." I said. All the campers were now standing, looking at me as if I had some contagious disease. Chiron laughed. "Well, Mark, you sure have moved awfully fast, considering you've been at camp for only a few minutes." Everyone else laughed along, but Chiron held up a hand, silencing them. "But," he said. "If what you say is true, then—" "Oh, it's true, all right." said a woman's voice from the crowd. They parted to let her step through. She looked to be in her twenties to mid-twenties, with her red curly hair flowing over her shoulders. Grover smiled. "Rachel," he said. "It's so nice to see you!" Rachel smiled and gave Grover a hug before turning to me. "This child is very special. What he says is true. I've seen it myself. She is chained by ancient magic, and we must issue a quest in order to find it. All of a sudden, Rachel collapsed, her eyes glowing green and her mouth billowing green smoke. A few campers rushed forward and propped her up on a bronze stool, like this was a normal occurrence. She slowly began to speak, but her voice sounded as if there were three of her speaking at the same time. She said this:

The Son of Thought and His Friends shall go,

To find the goddess and let her go,

From her inverted crumbling tower,

The Son of Thought shall use his Power,

Against the evil half-blood army,

The battle done with excessive smarmy

With that, Rachel collapsed once more and everyone's eyes turned toward me.


	9. Chapter 9

Think about it, Chapter 9

I suddenly felt nervous with everyone's attention turned towards me. I shifted where I stood, cleared my throat, then spoke. "Well, um, I'm pretty sure that was a prophecy, and I'm pretty sure she" I pointed at Rachel, who was slowly looking back to her old self. "Is an oracle, occasionally possessed by the spirit of Delphi, a foreteller of the future, and servant of Phoebus Apollo." I looked at her for a second, and my instincts told me she wasn't a demigod. "She's also mortal," I guessed." but she must be more aware than most mortals." Everyone looked at me, stunned. Jake's eyes got wide. "Mark, how did you know all that?" he asked incredulously. "I'm the son of Athena," I said. "Goddess of knowledge. So I guess I have knowledge about things. It's more like an instinct, I guess." Victoria shook her head. "All of the other children of Athena, including me, can't do that. We do have quick and usually right instincts, but none as specific as yours." I shrugged. I didn't really care. Someone from the back called out, "Maybe he's a spy!" I looked for the source of the voice, and saw a fairly tall girl with long brown hair in a ponytail down her back. Her eyes were almost completely black. She glared at everyone's accusing glances, but they let her speak. "Well, how else would he be able to make a minivan appear in the middle of the amphitheater, or know exactly about the camp, even what Rachel is and that she's a mortal?" She continued. "This prophecy is weird enough! What if he's the evil half-blood? " She asked. The campers thought about it, then turned to Chiron. He frowned. "Alex, I understand your point, but that doesn't mean we have to judge him so harshly. But it does raise a point," He said thoughtfully. "Maybe it was the gods who brought him here, maybe it was Athena herself who gave him the knowledge of Rachel, or maybe he simply inferred everything when Rachel billowed green smoke and foretold event that he had already confirmed." "It is actually quite simple," he said. "It seems that Athena had indeed been kidnapped." The Athena campers seemed to slump with defeat at the news, but immediately stood straighter, their minds already working on an escape plan. " The Son of Thought, as it seems, has presented himself to us." He said, gesturing toward me. His eyes grew serious. "An inverted tower…. That seems like a chamber. But an evil half-blood army, which cannot be good at all." One of the older campers, who looked well into his late twenties spoke up. "Could it be Kronos?" he asked. Everyone grew quiet as thunder sounded overhead. Chiron shook his head. "I would know, if he were rising." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know," he said. "It's too late to think clearly. Everyone, off to bed. Jake, Victoria, Eric, and Mark, stay here." Everyone else walked off to the cabins, muttering and whispering amongst themselves. "Oh, and you too Alex." He said as an afterthought. Alex had been walking toward the obsidian building with flaming green torches, but she turned around now. She trudged back, and Chiron looked at us seriously. "Jake, Eric, and Victoria." He said. "Very good job escorting Mark to camp. I congratulate and thank you. Mark," He said. "You are a special child; that much I can tell." He waved his hand at us. "You may retire to bed." He said. I turned to Jake and Eric. "Night guys," I said. "Thanks for helping me get here." Eric and Jake smiled and trudged off, Jake going toward a very wood cabin with vines growing out of the walls. Eric trudged toward a big three story blue house, waving goodbye before entering. "Night, Alex. Chiron." Victoria and I said. I didn't feel mad at Alex; if I'd been her, I would've been suspicious as well. Victoria led me toward a marble grey building with an owl at the top of the door. "Welcome to Cabin Six," she said with a sweep of her hand. I walked inside and was amazed at the coolness if the room. The walls were lined with blueprints, maps, and data charts. There was a Smart board on the wall, and a grandfather clock that looked totally steam punk in style. Then there were the beds. Each camper had their own room, which branched off into a kitchen and bathroom from a hallway that led towards the back of the cabin. All of them were tricked out in their own personal way, a TV here, a laptop there. Some even turned into chairs. Some magic must have been at work in the Cabin. The entire main room was bigger than the cabin alone, let alone the private bedrooms. The architecture was even more amazing. The way the ceiling arched and the windows curved. It was simply amazing. The entire cabin had about sixty people inside that I could count. They all, at the same time, said, "Welcome to Cabin Six, Brother." I smiled and thanked them. Everyone introduced themselves, and I remembered all their names, of course. Victoria led me down the hallway into an empty room which immediately caused the door to read, 'Mark Smith.' She told me I could trick out my bed in my free time, then she left me to myself. Inside the closet were all my favorite clothes, all my size. I slipped into some pajamas, climbed into bed, and fell asleep. For once, there were no dreams.


	10. Chapter 10

Think about it, Chapter 10

I awoke to the most awesome alarm clock ever. My bed had started vibrating slowly, and the song "Tick, Tock" by Ke$ha had started playing from the headboard. I would have to change that. I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and slowly got out of bed. As soon as my feet touched the floor, the bed stopped vibrating and the song stopped playing. That was pretty cool. I got up and pulled on some jeans and the orange t-shirt that everyone had been wearing last night, which I now noticed read 'Camp Half-Blood' with a Pegasus decal below that. I put on some shoes that looked like Nike's, but I realized that the check mark was a wing, and the words below it were in Greek. Somehow, although I'd never seen Greek in my life, I knew it read 'Hermes.' I thought they looked cool, so I put them on. I walked into the bathroom where a specially designed toothbrush was waiting for me .The brush simply brushed on its own. All I had to do was put it in my mouth. Afterward, I walked through another door and found the kitchen. I was about to start eating, when a conch horn sounded. A boy, Daniel, I remembered, stepped inside my room. "The horn means breakfast." He explained, and I walked outside with him. We all lined up in order of seniority, and we slowly marched toward a giant Greek pavilion. Since the dining area had no roof, I guessed that the camp probably must be able to control the weather. We sat down, and a serving of fried eggs, crunchy bacon, and a jelly biscuit appeared on my plate. I looked over and saw, although people had different dishes, they all stood up and walked toward the bronze brazier. I saw that people were scraping their best portion, the juiciest apple, the most season eggs, the crunchiest bacon. They were speaking words when they offered the food, so I guessed they were offering food to their parent. When it was my turn, I scrapped my portion into the flames, and the smoke didn't gag me. It was actually a pleasurable scent, smelling of homemade brownies and old books. "Athena," I muttered. "I will save you." Then I returned to my seat. I had some good natured chats with my cabin mates, who assured me how great camp life was. I already felt at home. Victoria sat down next to me and explained that today was a sort of 'free day' for me, and that after she showed me around, I could do whatever I wanted. After breakfast, Jake and Eric wandered over to me. Another person joined us as well. Alex walked over to me and said, "I'm sorry for calling you a spy," she said. "I was just suspicious. I'm the daughter of Hades, so trust isn't natural for me." We talked for a while, and I got to like her a little more. She was nice enough, and seemed to be a pretty cool person. We walked around the camp, and they introduced me to the forge, lava wall, Pegasus stables, armory, archery range, arena, and even the Big House. They explained to me the rules of the camp and handed me a schedule. They all went off to their own duties and wished me a good day except for Jake, who seemed to be a free spirit. He asked me if I wanted to take some sword lessons, but I decided I wanted to go to my room first. I grabbed a wrench and a screwdriver off of the wall, and set to work on my bed. In minutes I had turned my bed into a TV, computer, stereo system, and video game. I also managed to create a headset that recorded my dreams. Jake stood in amazement as I worked. I realized that with some magic, I could build almost anything. I stood up and wiped the grease form my hands on my jeans. "So you said something about a sword arena?" Jake nodded, his eyes still on my tricked out bed. "Well then, let's go!" We walked outside into the summer heat, and Jake stopped in the middle of a dirt field with little straw dummies dressed in armor. "Wait, do you need a sword?' I was about to say yes when I stopped. I remembered feeling that unfamiliar object in my pocket, and I felt it again now. I pulled it out and to my surprise it was a flash drive, the kind that you slid a button to release the port. It looked like an ordinary flash drive, solid gray, but I notice some Greek lettering on the side. It read, 'Ευφυής Λάμα', which I understood meant 'Intelligent Blade.' I slid the button up, but instead of releasing the port, the flash drive changed. I turned into a bronze-gold double edged -sword, growing in length until it was about two feet long. On one side of the sword, the blade was bronze. On the other, the blade was gold. Jakes eyes widened and he gasped muttering something about Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold never fused before. Finally, after he finished sputtering, he managed to ask, "Where did you get that?" he'd asked that kind of loud, and other campers were starting to notice my sword as well. One snarky kid from the Ares cabin strutted over and asked, "Yeah, go do some math problems. I bet your no good with a sword like that." With that, he swung his wickedly sharp sword at my head, closing in with a rapid speed.


	11. Chapter 11

Think about it, Chapter 11

I acted without thinking. Or more like, my sword told me what to do. I parried the strike and immediately returned with a thrust. The Ares kid barely had time to sidestep before I skewered him. He looked shocked, but immediately got angry and slashed down again. I easily sidestepped and stabbed toward his ankles. I noticed that as I fought, I suddenly seemed to have the knowledge of generations of swordsmen, and I guessed that my sword was giving me the knowledge. The Ares kid jumped and stabbed toward my chest. I sidestepped the swipe, hooked his sword hilt with my blade, and easily disarmed him. I put my sword point at his neck and said, "Who doesn't know how to use a sword?" The kid's face was beet red, but his glare told me I'd just made a dangerous enemy. He walked away, collecting his sword and pushing the younger kids out of his way. Jake started to applaud, and everyone else in the arena followed suit. One kid form the Apollo cabin, I think his name was Nick, praised me. "We haven't seen swords play like that since Percy Jackson!" I didn't know who Percy Jackson was, but I guessed he must have been highly honored here. I thanked him and he asked if I wanted to exchange blows. I agreed, and I have to admit, he gave me a pretty good workout, but in the end, I had disarmed him and he was on the ground. He praised me again and went to shoot hoops with his pals. Jake walked up to me and pointed the Ares kid who was glaring at me from across the arena. "That's Toby," he said. I snickered. "Don't laugh; he's a dangerous and temperamental person. You really don't want him as an enemy. I could've been cocky and said, "I can take him." But I didn't. I was smart, so I noted what Jake had said to me and nodded, slowly walking away from the arena. Jake seemed to collect his thoughts. "The sword!" he shouted. I jumped, startled by his loud outburst. I lifted my sword, inspecting it closely. The hilt was fine leather, molding to the exact shape of my hand. Inscribed on the hilt was the Greek letter that meant 'Intelligent Blade.' I know knew what that meant. It gave me the skills of a master swordsman, but I felt a little cheap using it, like I was cheating or something. I stopped and picked another sword and sparred quickly with a Demeter girl. I found that even without my sword, I was still a very good swordsman! Satisfied, I put the sword down and went on inspecting my sword. Also on the hilt was a softly glowing symbol of an owl. I noticed that the whole blade was literally humming with power. I started thinking of the possibilities. As if under someone else's control, I touched the owl symbol and muttered, "Φωτιά" which was Greek for 'fire.' Instantly, the blade caught fire, the blade humming with even more power. I lifted the sword and notice Jake running away from me, screaming his head off. I laughed and swung the sword, the fire trailing behind it. I touched the owl symbol again and muttered the Greek word for 'Extinguish.' The fire was gone, as if it hadn't even been there in the first place. I was awed by the sheer power of the sword and its many magical abilities. I loved it. I knew my mother had designed it and given it to me. I smiled and pushed the owl symbol inward, which immediately turned it back into a flash drive. I stuffed it in my pocket and set off toward the Big House. There I found Chiron, seated in a wheelchair, which made him look like a normal human. I figured the wheelchair was magic. Next to him was an extremely flushed man in a bright leopard print shirt. They seemed to be playing some kind of game, and I noticed that Grover was playing as well. Chiron glanced over and saw me. "Oh, hello Mark. Mr. D, Grover, and I were just playing Pinochle." The flushed man, Mr. D, glanced over at me. "Oh, Hello. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood and so forth, I guess." He cursed himself in ancient Greek. "Your name's too simple, there's no way I can mispronounce that…" he muttered to himself angrily. I looked at him and noticed that he seemed to radiate power. He was a god. Mr. D…. "Dionysius!" I shouted, coming to the realization. He rolled his eyes and said. "Grover, what is it the kids say these days? 'Well, Duh'?" Grover nodded. "Well then, Mark Smith, duh!" Mr. D said, smiling for some reason. "I remember the last time I said that." Chiron said as his collected his points and one the game. Mr. D sighed and then sat up. "Well," he said. "I guess I'll go to bed." He said, and with that he simply vanished into thin air, leaving the smell of freshly pressed grapes behind. Victoria, Eric, Alex, and Jake ran up to the Big House, out of breath. Alex was the first to speak. "Jake said something about a flaming sword?" I noticed she had her sword out, with a wickedly sharp black blade. I was about to tell her what happened when Chiron spoke. "Well, this seems like the best time to assign a quest!" he said. "Gather 'round the Ping Pong table and we'll discuss your journey. I have given it enough thought."


	12. Chapter 12

Think about it, Chapter 12

We all sat down in the chairs around the table, and Chiron put his elbows on the table and clasped his hands. "Well Mark, it's obvious that you should lead the quest, but you need to pick your two companions for the journey." I paused before answering. "No, I can't do that." Chiron looked at me as if he was surprised that I'd objected and then started to speak, but I cut him off. "I know rules may call for only three people per quest, but I have a feeling that I'm going to need every single one of them to rescue my mother." Chiron looked at me for a long time before speaking. "Okay. I will allow it, but you must be very careful. But," He said. "Only if they agree to go." I looked around and everyone was nodding, saying yes. "I've got to get a piece of this action," Alex said. Then she looked at us all. "And, you know, save Athena" she said guiltily. Chiron sighed, as if he had expected everyone's eagerness to go. "Well, for starters, we need to know where Athena is being held. We've only got a week until the summer solstice." I thought back to the mines that Athena was being held in. I thought about where that might be, when a voice spoke to me. "Well, I would suspect she's being held in the only coal like mine that associates itself with demigods." Said Mr. D as he sat down beside Chiron. Chiron looked fearfully at Mr. D. "You don't mean…" Alex finished his sentence for him. "Tartarus." She said gravely. Chiron nodded his head. "Of course. No one would willfully go into that place, not even a god." He said. I knew what Tartarus was, and I really hoped that Athena wasn't there, but my instincts told me that Mr. D was right. "How would we even find her in there?" Jake asked nervously, his hooves shaking. I thought about it. "Well," I said. "It would seem like they would keep her in the upper levels, so that her strength was sapped just enough to inhibit her escape. We could probably find her easily enough, if we get in an out quickly." Everyone except Alex looked at me as if I were crazy. "Makes sense. Well, let's go!" said Alex excitedly. "Well, wait a second, child, we need to establish some things first." Chiron said. Alex sat down reluctantly, a frown on her face. "We will give you some mortal money as well as drachmas," Chiron said. "We can provide transportation as far as the nearest bus stop, but that's it." I nodded. That would be enough. "Listen, guys," I said to my friends. "If you don't want to go, you don't have to." Victoria gave me a hard look. "My mother has been kidnapped; of course I want to go." "Yeah, and I have to stick with my best friend!" Jake said, as if he were trying to convince himself more than me. Eric just nodded; he looked deep in thought. Alex rolled her eyes. "As if you had to ask." She said. Chiron wheeled onto the yard and got out of his wheelchair, trotting up to us. "Well then, come one!" he said. "Let's go get your supplies." We all followed and were each given a blue back pack, magic like the one Jake had carried. "Your supplies are in there, trust me." He said reassuringly. He looked every one of us in the eyes. "In order to finish this quest, you must be brave, smart, and cautious." He said. "Extremely cautious." Before he could say anything more, a rainbow appeared behind him, projecting an image of a blonde, very pretty and tan woman, who looked to be the same age as Rachel. Next to her was a man with dark, tousled hair, and sea green eyes who looked the same age as the woman. They were holding hands. (I will allow you time to get over the Percabeth moment. When you are over it, please continue reading.) Chiron turned around and a grin broke out of his face. "Percy! Annabeth! How is the honeymoon going?" he asked happily. Percy grinned. "It's great Chiron. Well it has been so far…" Annabeth spoke up, a frown on her face. "I've heard that my mother was kidnapped! We have to save her!" Chiron waved his hand, dismissing the fact. "We already have a team of heroes on the job. Do not worry! You and Percy enjoy your time at Camp Jupiter." Annabeth seemed to relax when she heard we were going on a quest to save Athena, but her eyes still betrayed her nervousness. "All right, Chiron. But if she hasn't been saved by the summer solstice, I'm going to save her myself!" Chiron nodded at her, as if he understood completely. "Please relax! You only get one honeymoon, you know." Annabeth nodded, this time fully understanding Chiron. Percy looked at me, as if he could sense I was the quest leader. "Good luck, dude." He said, and I nodded my thanks to him. Percy smiled. "Well, it was nice to see you all, but I believe I have a date with a beautiful woman." He said to us and Annabeth. "Goodbye, Chiron." Annabeth and Percy said. They kissed, and the rainbow image vanished. "Well, we haven't got all day! Let's GO people!" Alex said gleefully as she started running toward the top of Half-Blood hill.


	13. Chapter 13

Think about it, Chapter 13

We followed Alex over Half-Blood Hill, to see a man with eyes covering his entire body waiting for us at the bottom. "Argus" I said, remembering the story of his creation by Hera. Argus nodded, and two of his eyes on his hands winked. He swept his hand in the air, and a van that read 'Delphi's Strawberry Delivery', the van being driven by a thin, pretty woman, covered in red feathers. "Ella is here!" she said, smiling at Chiron. "Ella!" he exclaimed with joy. "How nice of you to pay us a visit. How's Tyson?" Ella blushed "Tyson is good. He is working with Hephaestus in his forge, learning to build things, with iron, copper, zinc, bronze, gold, silver—" "That's great, Ella." Chiron said. "What have you been doing?" Ella smiled. "Traveling. Helping Tyson." She blushed again. Chiron smiled. Ella got out of the van, and she walked over to Chiron. "Athena is missing. I told Percy and Annabeth." She started mumbling about an inverted tower, evil half-bloods, and would've continued if Chiron hadn't interrupted. "Yes, Ella, we know. These heroes are going on a quest to save her." Ella looked at us. "Oh," she muttered. "Ella will go now. Tyson needs her." With that, she took flight in a blur of red and soared away from camp. Argus got into the van, and beckoned us to take our seats. We got in, and Chiron bid us farewell and good luck. "May the gods be with you." He said as the van doors slammed shut with finality. As we drove, I thought back to what had happened, from arriving at camp to now. It all happened in one day. That was fast. I guess we moved a little too fast, but right now, I needed to save Athena, so it was necessary. I looked at everyone, from Eric and his hidden look, to Alex who looked ready to jump off a cliff, which I guess we were going to do. Argus stopped and let us off at a bus stop, as promised. I bought tickets to the New York airport with the money the camp had given us. "So, where is the underworld?" I asked casually, trying to be calm. "Los Angeles," Jake said. "But what about flying in a plane? Alex is a daughter of Hades, are you sure Zeus would allow it?" I nodded. "He wants his daughter rescued, so he'll allow it." Alex didn't seem to care either way, she was fine with flying. Victoria seemed tense, constantly rubbing an owl pendant on her wrist, looking around her often. Eric, well, I couldn't really tell what Eric was thinking; he seemed like he was withdrawing into himself for some reason, and I didn't know why. In a few minutes we had ridden a bus with no trouble to the airport, and in a few more minutes we were on our way to Los Angeles. I'd bought us coach seats, figuring since camp gave us all that money, I might as well use it. We had an in-flight movie, which, coincidentally, was the movie 300. We were taken back to Sparta, and the battle of the, well, 300 men. I'd seen the movie a few times, so I noticed when the movie went astray from its original script. As a warrior was fighting, a giant black mass rose from the fighting warriors. It slowly took the shape of a giant, evil bat like monster, with some other weird abnormalities. It turned to us, and the thing spoke. "You will never save the goddess; she is heavily guarded by our finest half-bloods. Your quest doomed!" With that, our screen went black, and the movie ended. I gasped. That was the voice from my dream! I looked across a few seats at a random passenger's movie, but it was still playing, and there was no giant black monster in its picture. My friends and I looked at each other, knowing that whatever that was, he was holding Athena captive. We all fell asleep at some point, but once again, we had no dreams. The monster must have cut off Athena's ability to communicate. When we awoke, the attendants were telling us to fasten our seatbelts; we would be landing soon. Within a few minutes, we had landed and departed, heading toward the exit. A limo driver stood at the exit, holding a sign that read 'Demigods.' The mortals passed the driver without a glance, as if he weren't there. We tried to do the same but the man seemed to sense us. He turned and put a hand on my shoulder. Victoria, a bow and arrow suddenly in her hands, notched an arrow and pulled back the string. As I got a better look, I noticed the man had seemingly transparent skin; I could see his skeleton, and he seemed to be smiling creepily. Victoria prepared to release, but Alex held screamed, "No, stop!" But it was too late; Victoria released the arrow, and it soared into his skull, literally sending his head off his shoulders. The mortals seemed to notice something now. They were pointing at the skeleton-man, some screaming, and some fainting. I was expecting the skeleton-man to crumble to dust, but instead, his skull as if on its own accord, shot back onto his shoulders and his teeth chattered, but he made no move to hurt us. "As I was going to say," Alex said walking toward him. "This thing is from my father, and it going to take us to the underworld."


	14. Chapter 14

Think about it, Chapter 14

We followed the, as Alex told us, spartus, to our mode of transportation. Right now you're probably thinking, 'Oh, the gods are on their side, they'll get a stretch Humvee or something!' Well, you thought wrong. Our mode of transportation was indeed a stretch, but not a limo. Our vehicle was a stretch hearse. As we climbed into the back, I happened to notice that the seat belts were iron chains, and that the back of our seats were coffin lids. If this was what the lord of the dead drove, I thought, and then he certainly lived up to his title. Alex was leaning back, a smile on her face. Victoria was looking even tenser; she was now biting her nails. Jake was looking outright panicked, his eyes slits, goat style, and he was eating the seat belt. Eric was looking out the tinted window, his eyes fixed on some faraway, nonexistent point. I, on the outside, looked completely calm. On the inside, however, I was a mess. I was as stressed as Victoria, but I was trying to figure out how to fix any problems in my plan. I had taken off my backpack, which I could summon anything from. I was summoning little screws, wires, even a mini blowtorch. In a few minutes I had constructed a min grappling hook, a mini crossbow, and a magic rope that could bind almost anything. I thought about it and then I set on building the most difficult inventions I'd ever attempted. The others noticed the sparks coming from my work, and Victoria asked, "What are you doing, Mark?" I didn't reply for a while. I burnt my hand, and I had to stop myself from crying out. Eventually, when I could tell everyone's patience were wearing thin, I finished my work and spoke. "These." I said, holding up five stone rings. "What are they?" Eric said, suddenly interested. "Power rings," I replied. "When you wear them and press the symbol in the middle, they take your powers that you already have, and enhance them." I explained. "It will only work for a few minutes, so use it wisely." I said. I handed each ring to the individual person. Jake looked at it like a safety blanket, and cradled it in his hands. Victoria looked reassured now, and seemed to relax with this in her possession. Alex put it on her finger, looking at it and saying, "Awesome!" Eric didn't say anything, just nodded his thanks and leaned back, still thinking about whatever it is he was thinking. I also looked at my ring. It was the same as others, with one minor difference. It didn't enhance my powers. None of them did. It just glowed when you pushed it. I gave it to them to make them feel more confident. Mine, on the other hand, did something. It shot a retractable ladder from it, and that magically grew as it shot out. The spartus stopped the hearse, and we all climbed out. We had stopped at DOA Recording Studios, apparently the entrance to the underworld. We walked in, an immediately the spartus collapsed into a pile of bones, which turned into dust. "Demigods? GET OUT!" screamed a British accent from across the room. An African-American man dressed in an expensive Italian suit, glaring at us. His eyes landed on Alex and he froze in mid shout, a forced smile suddenly on his face. "Alex," he said. "Nice to see you again. You all going down?" he asked tightly. "Yes, Charon" Alex said; her face seemed pleased by the respect she commanded from Charon. I looked around us, and noticed all the translucent spirits looking around confusedly, murmuring and worrying. I felt bad for them, but there was nothing I could do. Besides, I could be one of them soon enough. Alex's presence seemed to console them, making them seem to relax and sigh, sitting back down in their chairs. We got in the elevator, but as we went down, the elevator changed. I got the weird sensation of moving forward instead of down, and the elevator suddenly transformed. We were now in an old, creepy looking leaky boat, now being propelled across the River Styx. After a few minutes, the boat came to a halt, and we arrived. We passed through the death gates with no problem; Alex played fetch with Cerberus for a while. Eventually, after walking through the Fields of Asphodel, we came to a cave. It seemed to be breathing, drawing us closer. It had an evil sense about it. I knew what this was. We had arrived at Tartarus.


	15. Chapter 15

Think about it, Chapter 15

"Well guys, this is it." Eric said, finally speaking up. We nodded, trying to psyche ourselves up for the journey. "There's no time like the present!" said Alex brightly as we entered the cave. As we approached, I realized that the cave was actually trying to pull us in, pulling us forward rhythmically. After walking a few feet, we approached the edge. "So, how are we going to get down there?" Victoria asked curiously. In answer, I pointed my ring toward the roof of the cave and pressed the center. A rope ladder shot out, attaching itself to the roof above and dropping down into the depths below. Eric clapped. "Will it hold us?" Jake asked skeptically. In answer, Alex ran and jumped over the edge and yelled, "Geronimo!" She grabbed hold of the ladder, which held her weight, and started climbing down. Victoria looked at it for a second and then jumped on as well. "It'll hold us all." She said confidently as she climbed down. Jake looked at it warily. "What if my fake feet fall off?" I pointed at the rungs. They had little indentions in them that would hold Jake's hooves. Jake sighed, as if he'd been expecting this, and started to climb down, kicking his shoes off into the abyss. I went next, Eric right behind me. We climbed for a few minutes, but didn't stop, as there were no places to get off at. As we went down, the temperature seemed to rise, yet fall at the same time. There were whispering all around us, as if the spirits of the dead were telling us to go back. Finally, when I thought we might as well give up, Alex shouted out, "Found a place!" We heard her land on the ground, then pausing to see if there were any traps. "Come on down" she whispered. Eventually, we had all gotten into the opening in the wall. There was a light ahead, and we peeked around the corner. The sight that greeted us was almost unbelievable. There were tons of monsters, some I'd never even heard of, wandering around busily, holding evil looking weapons or sharpening their talons. I saw a few dracaenas, snake women, Telikines, empousa, even some gorgons. But there were some with appendages so sickening, so creepily scary, that they didn't seem real. I leaned against the wall, breathing deeply. After my stomach had settled, I looked again around the corner. There, on a pedestal, was Athena, chained by the bronze-black cuffs, her head slumped in defeat. Victoria gasped, as if shocked to see her mother so subdued. I was too, but since I was new to being her son, it didn't affect me as much. Eric had started to breathe heavily, for some reason I didn't know. Jake looked as if he might faint. Even Alex looked a little wary at the sight of the monsters. I wondered where the dark voice was, it didn't seem to be occupying the room full of monsters. Across from us, there seemed to be a guard of some sort, but it wasn't what I expected. It was the guy from the iris-message, his sea green eyes locked ahead. Next to him was the woman from the message as well, a long dagger in her hand. It shocked me that they were guarding the place. They should be on our side. How did they get here? I approached them cautiously, showing my hands, a sign of meaning no harm. "Guys," I said slowly and quietly. "What are you doing here? Are you on their side?" In answer the guy, Percy, uncapped a pen, which expanded into a bronze sword, and slashed. I barely had time to take out my sword in time to deflect. His wife, Annabeth, also joined the fight, trying to stab me. Fortunately, even though these were supposed to be weapons masters, they fought very poorly. Percy was slow to defend, and Annabeth kept waiting too long to strike. I had disarmed them in a matter of seconds. I was about to interrogate them, when they changed. Percy grew green, poisonous looking horns; wings erupted from his back, and his face grew a dark shade of green. He spoke in ancient Greek, but I managed to translate most of it. "Did you think I was on your side? Honestly, you should have seen that I wasn't Percy and killed me, but since you hesitated, you must die!" He lunged, his horns missing me by barely an inch... I slashed downward, cleaving the Percy-monster's body in two. He screamed and disappeared, exploding into gold dust. I had forgotten about Annabeth. She had grown fangs, her entire body had turned gray, and her nails had become talons. She slashed downward, scraping my left arm and leaving a sickly green cut. She pinned me down, sending my sword flying out of my reach. I thought I was dead, but I had forgotten I had backup. Almost at the same time, three blades entered her body, and she exploded into dust. Victoria, Eric, and Alex were standing over me, offering a hand. Jake had fainted in the corner, but he looked like he was waking. "What was that?" I asked loudly as I stood up. "That, my brother, was the bane of all the giant children of Gaea. When they were defeated, they sprouted evil, anti-demigods that could transform into monsters and destroy their counterpart. When defeated, their counterpart is given their power, and become even more power than they had before. Much as I am about to do now." I turned around. Standing before me was… me.


	16. Chapter 16

Think About it, Chapter 16

Me, or, I decided to call him Kram (Mark Backwards) looked almost exactly like me. He was wearing my clothes, my shoes, even my ring. There was only one notable difference. He had an eye patch. On the eye patch was a symbol of an owl with an arrow through its head, its wings broken and bloody. In his hands he held a sword, MY sword, in his hands. He swung it, his one eye eyeing it hungrily. "Nice sword," he said. "Did your mommy give it to you?" I got mad right then. I don't know how it happened, or if it was some weird circumstance, but my sword flew out of Kram's hand and into mine. I looked at it in shock, and so did Kram. I smiled nicely and slashed, but someone stopped my sword hand. I looked behind me, and noticed that Victoria, Jake, and Alex bound and gagged in the corner. Behind me, Eric had taken my sword and was pointing it at my throat. 'Eric?" I asked. He smiled at me, his face somehow different in my eyes. "Well, it was obvious. I'm surprised you didn't realize it sooner." My counterpart explained. "You see, Eric was supposed to be dressed as a homeless man that would lead you to safety, and he was. But, this Eric was waiting for him. He easily captured him, and he is now being held in our prison. I'm surprised you didn't notice it, Victoria." Kram said sweetly. Victoria, not able to spit at him, just glared, and I believe she could've stared a hole through his other eye. Alex was struggling against her bonds, trying to break free. Another figure approached, her brown hair flowing behind her. Anti-Victoria, dressed in the same clothes as Victoria, only with an eviler look. "Take them away, Victoria. Eric, help her! But toss me his sword. Take his backpack, too!" Eric, not taking his eyes off me, tossed Kram my sword, took my backpack, and slowly marched the others away with Victoria. Kram had my sword pointed at me, and I tried to get mad, to send my sword back to me, but nothing happened. "Why haven't you killed me?" I asked. "Or the others?" Kram smiled. "That is our greatest plan," he said. "We're going to collect all the demigods and kill them at the same time, in order to raise every monster that's ever been defeated and sent to Tartarus, including Kronos, Gaea, all the Titans, and most of all, Ouranos!" I looked at him in shock. What he was going to attempt was madness! "That's crazy!" I screamed. "It won't work!" I said. Kram shook his head. "Oh no, you see, this is why we captured your mother." "After days of torture, she had lost just enough resistance for us to get the truth out of her, and it will work, it's been confirmed!" I wanted to argue, but I knew he wasn't lying. He actually could do this. "Take him" Kram ordered. Out of nowhere, two monstrous anti-demigods picked me up and carried me down some steps, where they threw me in my own private jail cell. I sat there for about an hour, thinking about how the camp might be doomed, and that the world would turn into utter chaos. I was just going to give up when a voice entered my head. "Mark," Athena's voice said faintly. "Use what you have! If you can free yourself, you will have achieved the potential to use the Blessing of Odysseus! Please, my son, be smart, and free me!" Then her voice was gone. What did she mean, use what I had? Then I remembered. My miniature inventions! I pulled them out. I had a mini-crossbow, grappling hook, and binding rope. They may have confiscated my backpack, but not my inventions. I looked outside my cell, checking my surroundings. The only thing next to me a cell adjacent from me. I thought about it for a second then picked up my grappling hook, aimed, and fired. The gods were with me, because the hook went through the keyhole and hooked a gear, securing the line. With my binding rope, I made a series of complicating knots through the lock, attached it my arrow, and aimed my crossbow at the adjacent cell. I aimed, and fired again. My hope was for it to travel with enough speed and force to undo the lock. Instead, the arrow sailed through the air, lost speed, and fell toward the abyss. I angrily kicked the door, which somehow flew open. I walked outside and looked around, but there were no guards. "That was easy." I muttered to myself as I walked up the stairs to save the world.


	17. Chapter 17

Think about it, Chapter 17

As I walked up the steps, I scanned the cells for my friends. After climbing about seventy steps, I was a little tired. I figured that my friends must be locked up somewhere else, probably near Eric. I was still shocked that Eric was an anti-demigod, and I didn't notice it. I guess that was his big mystery after all. Finally, after passing countless empty cells, I came to the floor where we had arrived. I looked back to where we first entered the room, and by some miracle our ladder had gone unnoticed. I could go up the ladder and get back to camp, assemble an army, and come back here. But I couldn't. It could be too late by then. They could kill my friends. So instead I turned my back on the ladder and peered around the corner again. There was a state of mass panic amongst the anti-demigods, who were scrambling around as Kram screamed at them, "Find her! Look everywhere!" He then walked up to anti-Victoria and anti-Eric. "How could you let her get away? She was in your care, and you let her escape!" He slapped anti-Eric, who stumbled, but said nothing. Kram turned away from them, as if disgusted by their very person. "Αλέξανδρος!" he screamed, which I translated to 'Alexander'. Anti-Alex walked forward, a black spear in her hand. "Yes, Kram?" she said, putting emphasis on his nickname. "You're her counterpart!" he screamed, pointing at her. "Find her!" Anti-Alex just rolled her eyes and walked away, muttering about how Kram was such a drama queen. I looked, and beside Athena, there were my friends, chained in the same manner as her. Victoria, Jake, and Eric all kneeled, slumped and defeated, much as Athena was doing. Alex was not with them. Where she once was chained there was only empty air. I leaned back. So Alex had escaped. I wondered where she was. "Hey, I've been looking for you!" a voice whispered behind me. I spun around, my fists raised. Alex was behind me, enjoying my shock "I've been a few feet above the cave entrance on the ladder." She explained as she peered around the corner. "How did you escape?" I asked. "Oh, it was easy. The chains were made out of Stygian Iron fused with Celestial Bronze, so it was easy to break. I'm the daughter of Hades, god of wealth and precious metals, you know." She said smugly. "Why didn't you save the others?" I asked. "Didn't have time." She said, shrugging. I nodded. "What now?" she asked, trying to think of a plan. I sat there for a moment, thinking it out. After a few minutes, I had come up with a plan. "Here what we're going to do: You're going to let your counterpart find you and kill her, or at least subdue her. Then, you will go on pretending to be Ant-Alex, and you'll tell Kram that you found yourself. Kram will want to go himself. When he arrives and see's anti-Alex tied up, you'll have to fight him. If you can't, lead him away and then meet back here. Then, I will command the anti-demigods, because they will be under the assumption that I am Kram. From there, I'll say that there's an army coming and we need to move the prisoners. When they open the chains, I'll destroy a few surrounding anti-demigods and we'll proceed from there." Alex paused, thinking over my plan. "I like it," she admitted. "But there's one problem: If you're going to pretend to be Kram, don't you need an eyes patch?" I hadn't thought about that. I hung my, head, stumped. "Not to worry," Alex said. "I have a solution." She ripped off a piece of her black jacket and used her knife to make it into a rough eye patch. "What about the symbol?" I asked. In answer, Alex produced some white nail polish and drew an owl that looked almost exactly like Kram's. I put it on, and it fit. I gave her the thumbs-up. She nodded and ran around the corner. Our first phase was in action. After waiting a few minutes, I heard Alex yell to Kram, "I found her! Come on!" I heard Kram assembling some guards, and he took off with Alex. After waiting a few seconds, I came out into the open, and with as much respect as I could muster, I yelled, "An army is coming! We must move the prisoners!" For once, my plan worked. Every anti-demigod scrambled out of my way as I walked up to the prisoners. I looked at Athena and tilted her chin up, making her look at me. "Be careful with this one." I said. Athena must have known my plan, because she winked and pretend to be angry. She spat on the ground. 'Well, don't just stand there," I said. "Unchain them!" They unchained everyone but Athena. "She's of no use to us anymore." Anti-Victoria said. As my friends were unchained, I grabbed a sword from a random anti-demigod and sliced an arc through the surrounding them. With that, my friends picked up the fallen anti-demigods swords, and we turned to face the evil army. Before I could attack, however, I saw Kram the crowd, holding my sword to Alex's throat. "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" he said. "I'll kill her!" I noticed Alex, fear on her face, her black jacket covering her Camp Half-Blood shirt. In answer to Kram's threat, I threw my sword, which flew across the room and embedded itself in Alex's head.


	18. Chapter 18

Think about it, Chapter 18

The sword sailed through the air, going straight toward Alex's skull. "Victoria and Jake screamed, "What are you doing?!" Alex saw the sword coming and horror came into her eyes. "You said this would work, Kra—" The sword sunk into Alex's head, and she exploded into dust. I smiled smugly. Kram looked at me, deadly anger in his stare. "How did you know?" he screamed at me. "Anti-Alex didn't have a hole in her jacket, from creating this eye patch.' I said. Before I could attack, Kram interrupted me again. "Attack!" he screamed, and the entire army of anti-demigods picked up their weapons and threw them at me. I braced myself, expecting the hundreds of blades to pierce my body. But they never came. I looked around, and the weapons had stopped in mid-air, hovering inches from my body. I looked around, and I heard Athena's voice, out loud this time instead of in my head. "This is your power, my son. Use the Blessing of Odysseus now, and strike back in the name of Olympus!" I thrust my hand out, and felt a tugging in my gut, and a stretch on my brain. The blades flew back to their owners, impaling them and almost instantly crumbling them to dust. Kram looked at me, stunned, but that emotion quickly turned to joy. "You realize," he said. "That if I'm your counterpart, I have your powers as well!" He snapped his fingers, and all the anti-demigods I had just destroyed re-formed their evil eyes glaring at me, weapons bristling. I heard Jake mutter, "We're screwed." I closed my eyes, and Alex, the real Alex, appeared by my side, her sword drawn. I figured the only way to defeat the army was to kill my counterpart. But I would need an army to give me time to find him and kill him, keeping him occupied. I needed an army. "Have room for an army?" came a voice from the back of the cavern. Ariadne and Michael (a kid from the Athena cabin) were standing in the back of the room, weapons drawn. Behind them was the entire Camp Half-Blood army, ready to fight to the death. Still, even with that many campers, we needed more. I figured we may have a chance of retreating, when yet another voice came from beside Ariadne and Michael. "Make that two armies." Said Percy as he and Annabeth stood beside Ariadne, their weapons drawn and armor on. Behind them, the entire Camp Jupiter army stood, their weapons drawn as well. I smiled, and then looked back at my friends and Athena. "Hold on," I said. "This will only take a second." We attacked, and the battle began. I fought alongside my friends, summoning a sword with my mind. I saw Percy fighting alongside Annabeth, slashing and hacking, monsters crumbling before him. Annabeth was looking at them and stabbing them in the best weak-spot and moving on to fighting someone else. She and Percy seemed to glow with power, and I remembered that I had killed their counterparts, enhancing their powers. Ariadne, her trident glowing with power, was fighting her counterpart, creating water soldiers out of thin air to protect her and fight the others. A man was next to her, fighting with a sword that was crackling with electricity, his black hair standing up. "Look out, love!" he warned as an anti-demigod in monster form pounced behind her. He held out his hand, and lightning blasted the creature to nothing. In the corner, a man about Percy's age was shooting lighting from his sword as well, fighting alongside a woman Annabeth's age with choppy-cut hair, slashing her dagger across the anti-demigods monstrous bodies, sometime ordering them to do things like, "kill yourself!" in which the anti-demigod would obey, crumbling to dust. A stocky man with a chubby face fought along an African-American girl with curly hair and gold eyes riding a horse, occasionally turning onto animals and taking down the enemy. The girl on the horse was zipping along the field, slashing them with her Calvary sword. A Latino man with an impish , childish face, was beating down the enemy with fiery hammers and shooting flame from his palms. A woman with her black hair in a braid down her back was fighting with two greyhound dogs, one solid silver and one gold, occasionally an enemy. A teenager with long, dark hair and an aviator's jacket was slashing with a solid black sword, much like Alex's. Jake was fighting with all the other satyr's his club raised as Grover shouted out commands and encouragement. Chiron ran around the field shooting a bow and arrow, his perfect aim taking out every target. Alex was laughing madly, slashing and twirling, taking out four or five monsters with each strike. Victoria was switching from weapon to weapon, a dagger, a sword, a cross bow. She was smartly firing and stabbing, taking down as many evil half-bloods as possible. Eric was fighting with a fury, seemingly renewed with energy since his capture. After his he was disarmed, he pressed a pendant on his wrist and changed becoming some sort of Were-Bear, clawing and biting away. Michael was a whirlwind, stabbing and slashing repeatedly. I continued to fight, once coming upon a girl with punk rock hair and a white fleece jacket stabbing with a spear that would sometimes flare with lightning. I continued on, even so. The only bad thing was Kram seemed to be doing the same thing. When I saw an anti-demigod crumble to dust, I would see it immediately re-form and continue fighting. When I saw one of the campers fall, I healed them and sent them back to fighting. I had to find Kram. I slashed my way through the evil half-bloods, letting my mind lead me to Kram. Some of the anti-demigods would spontaneously turn into their monster form, which made the battle even harder for us. Eventually, after healing many campers and killing even more anti-campers, I found Kram. He was standing on a rock, destroying campers with the power of his mind. I healed them, then stepped on the rock as well, my sword raised. Kram smiled as I approached. "I'm going to enjoy this." He said as he swung my sword at my head. With Kram occupied, neither of us had time to heal our fellow members. We exchanged thrusts, and even if Kram had my 'Intelligent Blade' I still matched him as a swordsman. As we fought, Kram started to transform slowly. His skin started to turn pitch black, his veins becoming filled with evil energy. His eyes started to turn read, his pupils becoming larger. Slowly, the transformation reached its peak. Kram became the monster I had seen on the plane ride here, his arms becoming bat-like and spiky. He grew larger, so I used my powers to make me larger as well. We fought and fought, but I could hear the battle around us dying down. I looked around and saw that the anti-demigods were winning that there were way too many campers on the ground. At the moment I looked away from Kram, he struck, sending a deep gouge though my arm. I gasped and held my wounded arm, while Kram smiled an advanced slowly. As he held my sword, the one my mother had given me, I grew angry. But I couldn't let the anger or pain blind me. I was the Son of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Kram put the sword tip to my throat, his thumb touching the hilt. "Well, it looks like you couldn't win this time, brother." I noticed that my sword hilt was glowing, right on the owl symbol. "You're right, brother" I said. "Since you are me, you are correct, WE won't win." With the owl symbol glowing on my sword, I used the last of my power to shield the campers, and screamed, "αυτοκαταστραφούν!" which was Greek for Self Destruct.


	19. Chapter 19

Think about it, Chapter 19

The explosion was like five nuclear bombs going off at once, sending heat and molten debris in my face. The pain was so intense, so real, I wished for it to go away, for me to die, be given a sweet release from the pain. Instead, I was forced to endure it, the pent up energy inside the fused and dangerous sword blasting a crater in the ground, and causing minor and major earthquakes miles away. Finally, after the flames had subsided, I was nothing but charred remains. I heard people rushing over to me, checking on me, but I didn't look. I was in too much pain. I groaned, and I felt a hand on my forehead. A tear fell on my face, giving me a slight sensation of relief. I sighed, and opened my eyes. Alex was by my side, crying loudly. I'd never expect someone like her, someone so strong, to cry. As I watched, Alex was moved out of the way and Athena knelt beside me. "My son." She said, smiling. "You have performed valiantly. I have never been more proud of a child of mine." She stopped for a second, looking at Annabeth a few feet away. "Well, except for Annabeth." She said, smiling. "Don't worry, Kram and the others are gone, and I'll heal you. Take you to Olympus. It may take a long time, but you will get better. Trust me." She said, and with her fingers she pushed my eyelids closed. When I opened my eyes, I was sitting on the porch of the Big House in Camp Half-Blood. Both camps, Jupiter and Half-Blood, were all gathered there, in front of me. Percy Jackson was there, his arm around his wife, Annabeth. Annabeth was the first to speak. "Welcome home, hero" Percy nodded and gave me a fist bump, his eyes full of respect. One by one, each camper, satyr, faun, and nymph came up and thanked me, congratulating me on my success. My mother was there. So were the other gods, all mingling around the Roman and Greek campers. I imagined each god looked a little different depending on the camper. But either way, they still were doing the same actions, saying the same things. One by one, each god came up and either congratulated me, told me they were surprised I wasn't killed, or said nothing just giving me a hand shake. In their own way, they said thank you, Finally, Athena came forward, and hugged me. "You were, as the kids say, awesome." She said. "I thought you might need a replacement." She said as she passed my flash drive sword. After all the gods had thanked me, Zeus/Jupiter spoke up. "You are probably still wondering about your birth," he said. I hadn't been, but I was now. "I received a prophecy, eons ago, that said there would be a demigod born who would be almost as powerful as a god. He would be the key to our salvation. He would save us when the big threat came." He paused as if to let the campers and I understand. "Over the years, I have met many powerful demigods. They have all saved us during a time we needed it. I never knew who it was, but I do now. Mark Smith, you are the most powerful demigod there will ever be. You have saved us all," he said. "But the threat is still anew. It will be a long time before we see peace again, but if we do, the peace will be un-interrupted forever. Mark," he said, looking at me. "Your birth was special. You see, when a powerful demigod is born, his or her life tends to be short, since he/she has many talents and gifts. Some can tie their life force to an object, but that would only delay it," Zeus/Jupiter said, looking at the stocky chubby faced man, who blushed. "Athena was determined to make you seem normal, so she found the smartest man she could. She chose your father. When she became pregnant, she wiped his mind of her and had Aphrodite find his perfect match, your birth mother. So, Athena placed you inside of her, and thus you had a mortal, normal birth." I nodded. I think I understood, finally. I looked at Athena and said 'Thank you' telepathically. Athena nodded, smiling. Eventually, the gods left, and Camp Jupiter went back to the Berkeley Hills, and Percy and Annabeth went with them. "I've got a honeymoon to finish." Percy said as he picked Annabeth up and carried her away to Camp-Jupiter, grinning wildly. After a few days, the camp had settled back into the old routine. I trained harder, getting ready for the fight I was sure to come. Every night I fell asleep, I felt good knowing that for now, I was safe, and that I would be at peace.

A few months after the fight, I had lain down in my bed and was sound asleep. I was happy, I was fine. Until I had the dream.


End file.
